Circular-knitting machine.



F. WILGOMB.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.19, 190s. RENEWED NOV. 29, 1912.

1,054,067. Patented Feb. 25, 1913 ETS-SHEET 1.

, I 3 SE3 7 I Z'aisrcfor ma WWM m v M *ki F. WILGOMB.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE APPLICATION FILED NOV. 19, 1906. RENEWED NOV. 29, 1912.

3 BHEETSBHEET 2. Q

pus.

R in!!! F. WILGOMB. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED NOV. 19, 1906. RENEWED NOV. 29, 1912. LQ5Q067" I Patented Feb. 25, 1913.

3 SHEETB-SHEET 3.

FRANK WELCOME. 0F NOREISTOVJN, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO 'WILCOMB MACHINE COIJIPANY, OE NGRBIS'IONN, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION.

CIRCUELAR-KNITTING IMACHINE.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Application filed November 18. 1936, Serial No. 344,075. Renewed November 25 1912. Serial No. 734,194.

To all whom If may concern Be it known that l, l nimn \Vnroun. eitii :nljustnient: for the sinkers.

-zen of the United States, residing at :(Ol'llfitown, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful linprovenitaits in Circular- Knitting Machines. of which the following is a specification.

lily invention relates to circular sprint needle knitting machines having independ ently operated spring heard needles sinkers for feeding the yarn to the needles. and web holders for holding the loops from advano ing and retracting during the upward and downward movements of the needles.

My present invention is a development oi that disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States granted to me July 18, 189.) No. 629,116. in which a presser ring is employed outside the needle row and fixed circunilerentially in respect. thereto so as to afford a pressing surface tor the needle heard when the needle is forced outwardly by a presser device traveling within the needle row.

My present invention concerns improvements in the construction and arrangement of this presser ring. the web holders and sinkers associated therewith. the construction and arrangement of the wet: holder and sinker beds, arrangements wlmreluthe web-holders and the needles may he removed individually without disturbing any ot' the working parts or changingthe adjustment of such parts, means wherehv the .inl-:er cams in a multiple fee l machine may be ad justed simultaneously and also independ cntlv. rue-ans associated and traveling in unison with the presser device in the inside of the needle row for lining up and supporting crooked needles while the 1 n is being fed thereto preparatory to the pressing and casting ott action. means for press ing or smoothing and clearing down the web so as to avoid the use of take up means for pulling the fabric down through the cylinder, and my invention further concerns V27: rious features oit construction and combinations and 'rangeinent of parts l1t."8i1tftli described and particularly pointed t:- the claims.

In the ar is plan ii..w ing my invention tical sectional i n a view enlarged knitting head showing certain features of Fig. 4 is a plan View of the needle cam ring. Fig. 5 is a view of a vertical section 01" the needle earn ring. Fig. (3 a plan View of the web holder, cain ring. Fig. 7 is a view of a wele holder. Fig. 8 is a sectional View of the web holder loed detached. Fig. 9 is a view ol one of the sinker-s. Fig-1O is a detail relating to the cylinder and the Web holder guide ring. Fig. 11 is'a detail view relating to the means for adjusting the sinker cams. Fig. 12 is a detail vieW of a part of the presser ring for the needle beards. Fig. 13 illustrates the removal of a needle from the machine. Fig. .4 is a detail view in section of the guide ring for the web holders, which ring is adapted to be secured tothe upper part of he cylinder. in the drawings, 1 indicates the independently operating spring heard needles; 2 the needle cylinder, and 3 the coin ring carrying the needle cams t, 5. At the upper end of the cylinder the \\-'eb-l1olcle1--hecl 6 is suppt-rrted by a flange or shoulder 7 of said Webholder-bed resting on a shoulder 8 of the needle-bed or cylinder. This bed is radially grooved to guide the radially sliding, independently operating web-holders 9, which are operated by the cam 10 carried carrier ring or gear wheel 11. which is "ven tieal driving by the gear wheel 12 on the shaft 13. This \VGl') ll0lL lG.1-CF.I!1 carrier turns about the central portion ti the WQiJ-' liOltlLl'dJQtl. and it rests and turns upon the stationary "frame plate let which support.- ed from the base ring 15 of the knitting head by posts such as indicated 1-3. Above the horizontal or grooved part of the weh-holderhed and resting thereon, is the sinker-lied 1?. This is also grooved, radially. to receive and guide slidingsiniters 19. This sinker-bed is provided with a rim 20 which at its outer edge rests upon the trains plate' 14, and together with said t'i one plate is held to the supporting posts or standards by screws one of which is he rim of the sinkeehed is 26 on the vertical drive shaft 13, before mentioned. It is retained in proper position by the cap plate 2h. secured to the run ot the sink-er bed by screws. said cap plate having an overhanging tlange 2T reaehing over the edge of the sinker H111 ring.

is in my prerious patent. above referred to. the needles, during the pressing action tor astmg oil the stilt-hes. are forced out wardly so that the bands will be pressed against a ring. In the present improve ment this ring is of spe ial constrlu-tion and arrangement. upon the top of the web-ho]denbed and under a lip 23 ot the Sinker-lied. which construetion holds it against vertical displarement. it has :1 depending llange 23o extend i ing down within the inner rirele ot the web' holder-bed. the inner face of said depend- 1 ing flange atliording a long bearing surtaee for the beard ot the need e to travel on;

during the pressing action. thus preventing mispressing. the beard being held elosed tor a long period rt time tor the action ot' casting oil the loops. his presser ring further ean he hardened and ground on all exposed surtaree. and as it lies between the web holders and the sinlters it presents smooth unbrolzen surfaces for the sinlters and web holders to trav l against. time insuring aeeuraa-y in the positioning and in the movements of lllthtf elements which cannot be Secured when the only guide and bearing is that a ll'orded by milled slots or grooves. lty this eonstruction and arrangement ol' the prcsser ring as a bearing tor the sinlters to slide on the result is that the inlters will all be brought to a certain level whirh would not be the case where the s'inlters travel in milled slotf i liable to am in .depth. and as regard the webho ders a broad unslotted sur'lar-e lF t'urnished to prevent the web-holders from rising with the fabric as the needles are pushed upwardly. the large wearing urt'aee being of great importance in the circular type of machine. It will be noticed further that the presser ring is held in oneentrie relation by its depending flange bearing against the interior face of the webdrolder bed.

which face is eom-entrie with the cylinder.

The depending flange is slotted at 30" Fig 1:? to permit the web holdersto passthrough. and thie (-onstruetion serves to hold the presser ring against eircmnterential displacement, the parts of the depending flange extending down between the web holders. The preseer ring needs no holding dev'iees other than matns deseribed, eonsisting' r the web-holder-bed, and tanker-bed and its engagement by the web holders themselves. I also provide a smooth ground surface for the web holders to slide'on and he supported or guided accurately in the same hori it shown at 23 resting? iz ntal plane. This eonsists ol'tlte upper sur'lat-e oi the cylinder at 31, which is ground to a smooth. plain llat surt'are and attords a broad bearing for the web-holt'lers ing and making the level ol the web-hold ers mar-h more even than would be possible where the web-holders rest on the bottom o't milled or awed slots which are not always of equal depth. The guiding slots for the web-holders are provided by a ring s parate and di tinrt from the cylinder but ecured thereto by serews as at 33. Th ring rests on a shoulder I-ll on the interi r of the l cylinder and it has a portion overlying th plain flat top of th cylinder. Whit-h orerrving portion is slotted to provide the :radial guiding walls of the web-holdere. l The annular ring has its slots eut slightly l below the top of the'cylinder Fig. l0 so i that it servee; merely to guide the Web-holdi ers against lateral displacement. l .\in important t ature ot my invention is that the web holders can he removed, With- 5 out rerptiring the detachment of any part of the machine or disturbing the adjustment ol any part. The web holders. at any time. can he removed from the maehine by withd 'awing them radially inward toward the center line of the cylinder, and this may be done with all web holders throughout the circle excepting those few engaged by the eam of the web-holders. and these ot' course -an be radially removed by rotating the machine to the slight extent necessary to disengage these web holders from the cam. In order to secure this result the web holders are arranged to slide in their bed (3. before mentioned, and are freely removable inwardly therefrom. The \VGl')-l10l(lCI-l)(l besides having the cylindrical portion or flange (3 in prorided with the outer depending portion or tlange (3*, these two flanges being connected by the main horizontal portion (3. This, construction provides a chantber or recess (3 beneath the web-holder-bed and up into this space the web-holder cam 10 projects. The portion 6 ot the web holder bed is slotted clear through from top to bottom. said slotting also extending part way down the inner and outer ring 6 t9. thus exposing the recessed portion W of the web-holder below the main or slotted portion ot the bed to the action ot the ram beneath.

The form ot the web holder Ollll'JlQVttl by me shown more ntrtienlarlyin Fig. T. from which it will be seen that instetd of i employing a projecting nib for the ealn to act against, the web holder is provided with in recess on its under side presenting a shoulder 36 for the web holder cam to aet against. It will be seen trom this form of web holder and the term of bed employed. i that there is nothing to obstruct the tree to slide 'l'reely. preventing them from tiltosses? of the web holders radially inward and when they are to be removed they are simply drawn inwardly by grasping their inner ends. The web holders are pressed normally inward, that is toward the centhe machine by an encircling spring 'ug against the rear ends of the web which are notched at to receive The actionof the spring is v coming against the outer side of 6 of the web-holder-bed. By the of spring the .web holders are rencred elasti or self adjusting and they r -tore adapt themselves automatically to length of the loops of the fabric whether 1-: be knitted loose or tight, and the ders also are enabled to adapt themineq :t-lit-ies of yarn, like knots, to avoid rupturing the yarn and olcs in the fabric and also to equal- 1 ops during the knitting operation.

When the needles have fabric on them the spring will force the web holders firmly against the fabric and with uniform pressur except where abnormal conditions exist such as lumps, knots and similar imperfections occur in the yarn or knitting. At such times even a single web-holder may be all slightly altected by a knot and will not receive its full movement. The web-holders on either side of this particular one will receive less pressure from the spring since the single web-holder is holding it in a backward position. The pressure or" the spring is distributed equally under normal condi tions, to the web-holders, but under abnormal conditions the web-holder, exposed to resistance by reason of a knot tc. will be subjected, to some additional pressure by the spring. Holes caused by cutting are less liable to occur than it the webholders were forcedt to their extreme forward or inward movement by a cam in which case the web holder must sever the yarn where knots or bumhes occur. The web-holder cam 10, which operates the web-holders inwardly immediately after retracting them, ceases to push on the web-lmlderwhen it has barely engaged the fabric the encircling spring bein relied on to advance the \vcbdiolders far enough to draw the stitches taut on the stem of the needles.

lt will be observed from the construction and relative arrangement of the presser cylinder, \vel'rholder-bed, pi'esser ring, and sinker-bed. that the parts are held in concentric relation by theirengagement with one another. This concentric relation results from the fact that the web-holder-bed bears'a inst the side of the cylinder, the presser is centered by the overhanging gaging the inner circle or" the webedge the presser ring forming a bearing tor the inside circle ot the sinkerbed holdingit concentric, and this sinkerbed becomes a bearing and guide absolutely concentric with the necdle-row for the sinker cam ring to travel upon.

' The sinkers serve the purpose of keeping the needles spaced properly during the advance or upward movement of the needle and also the downward movement of a needle except at the very short interval of time when the newly formed loops leave the nose of the sinker as the loop is being drawn into the fabric. Thesinker has a long nose 19* \vhich'in the normal position of the sinker is advanced to form a guide for the needles as above explained. This lower extension or nose prevents the yarn, which has been fed to the needles to form new loops, from falling down or straightening out, in the case of wiry yarn, during; the downward movement of the needle until such time as the heard is being pressed to pass through the fabric, insuring perfect uniformity in the lengths of the loops and avoiding the common fault of the yarn slipping through sidewise of the needle and making uneven loops. as to the limit of their inward or thread sinking movement, and the mechanism that l have provided for this purpose is of special advantage in a multiple teed machine,

The sinkers are adjustable though it is not limited in its application to such machines.

The means in a multiple teed machine enable all the sinker cams to be adjusted simultaneously to supply more or less yarn, all. the feeds receiving the same amount of adjustment and each being capable of independent adjustment. For this purpose, as shown in Fig. 3, the sinker cams 23 are carried by a block 39slidably mounted on top of the cam carrying ring, being connected with said plate or block by the screws 40 passing through slots 41 in the cam ring. This plate or block has a stud or screw 42 on which is held eccentrically a button 43 having a cylindrical portion 44. which forms a bearing for a roller 45, having a beveled periphery at 46 and bearing on a race ring 47 supported on the fixed cap ring 26*, before mentioned. This race ring has inclined slots 48 through which project pins 49 from the fixed cap ring. The cam carrying plate or block is pressed normally outward by springs 50 supported on the cam carrying ring.

It will be understood that the sinker cams for each feed are held adjustably in the manner just described and therefore when the race ring is turned and its inclined race 51 is thereby raised or lowered in respect to the rollers or wheels 4-5, that these wheels will move radially inward, it the race ring is lowered and outward if the race ring is raised, the former action being in opposition to the tension of the springs 50, While int! block to more on. t.

it will be understood that when the cam ring 17 rotates the truck wheel upon the ace ring and that the adjustment may be efiected while the machine is in operat-ion. The truck wheel turns freely upon the cylindrical surface 01 the button ll which held rigidly to the cam carrying block or plate by the screw By the above described devices any nun:- her of feeds may be adjusted simultaneously for slack or tight work. Each feed is tapable of independent adjusti'nent. which is e'tl ected by loosening the screw t) and turning the eccentric. button i t to shift the cam in or out in relation to the needles. The race ring will be held in any position to which it is adjusted by a thumb screw or other device indicated at 52. l have provided a guard cam at 53 forming in this. my present arrangement. an extension ot the cam of the sinkers. This guard cam projects out over the sinlv'ers at the point where they advance to sink the yarn to the needles. and serves to hold the sinkcrs against any upward tilting movement.

before stated, my present invention is an improvement over that shown in my patout above referred to. in which a prcsser operates within the needle row and forces he needles outwardly to press the heard against the presser ring. This pre ser is shown at 54-. being: carried yieldingly by an arm supported upon the rotary an: ring. Associated with this presscr and with the presser ring I employ means for holding crooked needles in a true concentric line during the period oi time when the sinkcrs are feeding, the yarn to the needle. to insure perfect uniformity in the ltllQllm of loops and a better pressing action. which latter action follows closely that ol feeding the yarn by the sinkers. For this purpose l provide a plate arm secured to the sinker *am ring. by a pin 513 Fig. 3 said plate titting partly within a groove in the upper face of the cam ring: and a groove in the under i'aec ot the 1111'] block or plate. he inner end of this plate is bent upwardlv and thence dtnvnwardly. providing: :1 broad flat support 57 on the inner side of the needle row so as to resist the thrust of the yarn agaiustthe needle during the formation of the loops. The ends of this support are turned inwardl' at 5T slightly so as to engage the needles. although they may be standin consideral'ily out of position.

vFrom Fig. 1 it will be seen that the prcsser is arranged within the needle row so as to tollow in its action the evening up of the needles and the teedine ot' the yarn thereto. The shank t'ltdiiis needle support forms a guide for the adju table cam carryalso providea rave ls guard or fabric presser traveling; sligitly above the fabric and serving" to pnsn away any obstructions in the form of lumps oi lintv or to press down and smooth outv any obstructions *aused by the web gathering or puekering up when no weight or take up is used to draw the knitted fabric do vnward. thron h the cylinder. This guard or presser consists ol? a piece secured at 59 to the cam ring and extending down to a point. just. above the web holders, where it is pro vided with a fiat toot at 60 Fig. to smooth out the web and retrieve obstructions such as lumps &e. By the use ()fi this web-pre5ser the tabric requires no take. up for drawii'tg-r it down through the cylinder, this device together with the web holders sewing; to direct the fabric downwardly. The: guard is in advance of the interior pres and it removes any bunches or lint and prevents it from reaching the presser and can o a jam here. and furthermore it removes all obstructimis liable to cause bending or iammine oi? the sinkers. needles or web holders, and facilitates the work of renewing}; the knitting operation when. for instance. a part of the work has run. of? the needles or a hole has occurred in the fabric.

The needles 1 are attached to jacks the inner edges of which slide in the grooves (it of the cylinder while their outer edges slide in grooves of a cylinder ragg c :2 hereinat ter reterred to. The needle jacksare operated vertically by cams carried by a cam ring which is termed ot the gear section 53 and the cam ring proper 3 attached to the gear section by the screws (35. The needle cams comprise. as shown in Fig, 5 the upthrow cam 36 and the draw-down am (37. The latter is adjustable. being! co r nccted to a post '19. having a slotted head. the slot. ot' which is engaged by a l ii'l'tift or. the adjusting screw 39. A jam screw 'Z'tt presses and holds the post down in the posh tion to which it adjusted. The cam ri' is lornn-d in sect-ioi'is. one section "ti 1 carries the draw-down cant being pivoted at so that it may be tilted back in order that the needle and jacks may be ini-uicctcifl at any time by the operator. This biting cam section held in its closed position by the set screws 73, support d by the tlTiWfl sec tions and entering the tiltinn section. (fine section of the am ring: or cylinder is complctely removable. in order to permit the needles and jacks to be removed. 'lhi: tion is shown in Fig. l at. 71-. it being held in place by a button which on being. given a quarter turn will be in line with a slot 76 it'orld in the ba e of the said cant ring or cylinder so that the sectionsv or the same may be removed. This can] ring holds the needle jacks in place and shields them from the accumulation ot tint and dust. lit, will be noticed that the lines of. division be l. U U

remove them.

tween the section of the cam ring are not radial but tangential to the circle of needles, and jacks and theretor the segments form a substantially continuoua bearing surface without a break sutliciently large for the needle jack to enter and be caught thereby. This ring "may be formed in one piec and slotted up afterward and even though crevices let't lllQSO will not receive the needle stems which must move adially in order to This tangential slotting also allows the tilting cam section to be pivotally mounted between parallel planes at'the pivotal point.

Another feature of my invention relates to the construction and arrangement of parts enabling me to replace any needle in the machine without toe necessity of removing the cylinder from the machine as is done with. most hosiery machines and without pulling the needle upwardly as is done in most rib machines. In removing t-he needles in the machine built according to this invention it not necessary to disturb any of the working parts and with this result in view I employ the needle "age 62 above mentioned. lhis cage is made up of tempered metal strips held in a ring 76' at the lower end of the cage and within the same and by a ring T7 at the upper end of the cage and inclosing the same. The cage may be supported by its ring '76, which is connected to the cylinder. The strips are spaced apart to conform radially to the grooves in the cylinder. They atl'ord wide guiding walls for the needle jacks to work between. I have arranged the ring 77 so that during the operation of knitting the needle operating jack at the extreme of its upward movement is held accurately between the ring and the cylinder, this being at the time the yarn is being fed to the needle and the said needle jack is held accurately in its path by the encircling sectional cam ring in its lowest position as well as inits highest position. When now a needle or needle jack is to be-replaced the section 74 of the cam ring is detached by turning the button or screw and the needle and jack are drawn radially until the needle stem comes in contact with. the top encircling cage ring when it may be pulled downwardly and out from the machine as in Fig. 13. The new needle and jack are introduced by a reversal of these movements. The cam ring for the needles is driven through the gear 78 on the vertical shaft 13 This gear togthcr with the gear 12 for operating the web holder cam ring may be adjusted in relation to each other and the sinker operating mechanism to properly time these parts, and the sinker driving gear may be adjusted also.

It will be understood that while l'show a machine in which the needle cylinder is stat onary the invention may be applied to the opposite type of machine. It will be understood also that all thefeatures above described are embodied in the one machine.

it will be observed from Fig. 2 that the needle shanks are guided by both the cylindcr grooves and thecage grooves and they shoulder on the sinker bed and thus covers the grooves for the sinkers. It will be seen also that this flange of the covering cam' ring 18 toothed beginning at a point below its upper surface. thus forming a shoulder while a. ring 38 fits in this shoulder and covers the teeth. In this way the sinker grooves. are closed against access of dirt and teeth of the ring 34: are

lint and further the protected.

' I claim 1. In combination, needles, :1 cylinder having a plain upper edge, Web holders slidably mounted, movable radially across said plain edge and bearing thereon, and slotted guiding means for the nose ends of the web holders formed independently of the cylinder and supported thereby, substantiallyas described.

:2. in combination, the cylinder having the plain unslotted upper edge, sliding Web holders movable and bearing on said surface, and a ring supported on the inner side of the cylinder and having a slotted guiding portion for the web holders, substantially as described.

3. in combination, in a circular knitting machine, spring beard needles, a cylinder, sliding web holders, a presser inside of the needle circle to press the needles outwardly from their normal plane, and a presser ring outside the needle circle overlying the 'web holders and having a depending flange at the inner edge thereof slotted to receive the 'webholders and extending down from its main horizontal portion between said web holders to guide the web holders and present a lon bearin surface for the ressin acto s g tion, and to guide the needles, said presser ring above the saidflange presenting an unbroken edge hanpressirrg, substantially as described:

4. in combination, in a circular knitting machine, spring beard needles, sliding web holders, a cylinder, a presser within the needle circle and a presser ring outside the neodle circle overlying the web holders and having a depending flange slotted to guide the web holders. center the ring and allord a long bearing for the pressing action, substantially as described.

l n con'ibination, in a circular knitting machine pring heard needles, a cylinder,

' ,1t)tttr!tlt the needle row, an int rzor pi cr tor iorcing the needles out.- na dly tor pressing. radially sliding webholders and a bed theretor, said presser ring c. eciying and covering the weh olders near l -it' nose ends and presenting its plain under -'ide as a bearing surface tor said weblioiders toslid against, substantially as described.

t. in combination in a circular knitting machine, spring beard needles, a cylint'ler, sliding welrholders. a web-hol ler-bed, an interior presscr and a presser ring outside the needle circle, said ring resting with its horizontal main portion on top of the we! holder-bed covering the web-holders, near their nose ends and having a flange de pending at its inner edge within the said bed and being centered thereby and slotted to guide the Web-holders, substantitlly as described.

7. in combination, in a circular knitting machine, the needles, a cylinder, radially sliding web'holders. radially sliding sinkers. beds for said web-holders and sinkers and aring interpmzed between the sinkers and web-holders covering the neb holders near their nose ends, and presenting beariml surl'ac a tor the said web-holders and sinkers to slide upon, substantially as de scribed.

8. In combination. in a circular spring needle knitting ma hine, needles, a cylinder, a presscr within the needle row, a presser ring outside the needle row, radially sliding sinkers and radiall sliding web-holders, beds for the same, the said presser ring being interposed between the sliding web-holders and sliding sinlt'crs, and covering the web holders near their nose ends, substantially as described.

9. in combination, in a circular knitting machine, needles, a cylinder. a web-hnlderbed engaging part of the cylinder, a pres-seiring held concentric by the web-lioltlenl'ietl. sinker-s, a sinker-bed held concentric by the presser ring and having a shoulder, and a cart ier for the sinker cam working against the said shoulde' aml held concentric thereby, substantially as described.

10. Tn combination. needles. a cylinder, rat liall) sliding \\'eb-holders. radially slid- .ag' sinkers, a. welrholder-bed. a sinkei bed, a presser within the needle row. a presser ring outside the needle row having a horizontal portion, said presser ring being re tained in place by its horizontal portion interposed l'ietween the web-holder and sinkerbeds and having a depending flange at its inner edge slotted to receive the web-holder by which said presser ring' is held against circumferential displacement, sul'istantially as desclribed.

it. in combination, in a circular knitting sinkers, a, connection with the sinker cam and av race ring having,"

a beveled truck or race-way tor the truck wheel with means tor raising and lowering the said race ring, substantially as described.

13. In combination, in a circular knitting machine. needles, a cylinder, sinkers, cams tor the sinkers, movable blocks carrying the said cams, an eecentrically pivoted button or cylinder carried by the'bloek, a truck Wheel iournated on-said eccentric and a race ring with means tor adjusting the same .to move the truck wheel inwardly or permit outward adjustment thereof, the said eccentric permitting individual adjustment; out the cam and means whereby the race ring is adjusted, substantially as described.

14-. in combination, needles, a cylinder, sinkcrs, a can: ring, a block carrying the cams and adjustable on the said cam ring, a spring for moving the block outwardly, a truck wheel, and a race ring for adjusting the block inwardly, substantially as described.

t5. in coi'nbination in a circular knitting machine. needles, a cylinder, Web holders, an exterior presscr ring, an interior presser, and a clearer plate arranged in advance of the interior pres-.1 to smooth down the fabric to pass theretmder, and clear the Fabric in advance of the presser of obstructions, substantially as descril'ied.

H in coml'iination, in a circular knitting machine, needles, a cylinder. ti li .lly id ing sinkers and a guard extendin over h sinkers at the point where the) are id vanced to sink the yarn to prevent the Mt l :ankers 't'rom tipping upwardly, Sit un'ltli" tiallv as described.

17. In ct'nnl'iinat'ion in a circular machine. radially sliding sinkers, radially slidingweb holders, a Inesser ring interposed between the sliding sinkers and J llOlt l'tl'H, and covering the sliding w l la... ers near their nose, ends. and inner i means. substantially as described.

18. in combination in a circular kni ing machine. with the sliding sinkers and \t'E-l) holders. the inner presser. and an outer ring knitting interposed between the sliding sinker-s and web holders covering the web holders near their. nose ends and having guiding teeth and a plain bearing surface, substantially as -in relation to the web holders, the interior presser, said slldmg web holders bemg rei movable inwardly in respect to said presser' ring and from below the same, substantially as described.

91. In combination 111 a circular knitting ing web holders, radially sliding sinkers, beds for the sinkers and web holders, a pr sser-witlnn the needle circle, a presser ring exterior to the needle circle, said presscr ring being interposed between the radially sliding sinkers and web holders, and having a horizontal portion overlying the web holders near their nose end and having also a depending slotted flange 'macliine, needles, a cylinder, radially slid tending down between the web holders serving both to guide the same and atl'ord a long bearing surface for the pressing of the needle beard, sul'istantially as described.

in combination in a circular knitting machine, needles, a cylinder, web holders, a presser ring exterior to the needle circle, a presser interior in respect to the needle circle, and a guard operating on the inside of the needle circle to smooth down the fabric on the inner side of the cylinder adjacent the interior presser, substantially as described.

23. In combination in a circular knitting machine, the needles, sliding web holders, an exterior presser ring superimposed upon the web holders, an interior presser, sliding sinkers superimposed in respect to the Web holders, and cams for operating the sinkers and web holders, said Web holders being removable radially inward from their posit-ion beneath the presser ring and sinkers without disturbing the latter, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I attix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK WVILCOMB.

\Vitnesses:

\VM. F. DANNEHOWER, CHAS. KoI-ILEn. 

